E. J. - 993 Alumni

Hi Guys. Long time no visit the Rennlist site.

I'm considering a 2008 S as a daily driver.

I have a lot of questions but will start with the biggies. I am asking these after an exhaustive search, so I appreciate the help.

1. Would you buy one with 50k miles that is not Porsche Certified?

2. What are the big issues - if any - I need to look for?

3. How do the GPS, Bluetooth and other systems work? Are they upgradeable to get current mapping? Is there an ipod input? With control or only Aux in?

4. What is real world fuel mileage? I drive highway and city evenly and have a pretty heavy foot.

5. Do they all have a hitch on the back (maybe hidden by the bumper cover if no visible in pictures)? Is it 2" or 1.25" receiver? Need that for bike rack.

6. How is snow performance with the stock all season tires? What is the standard size wheels on the S? 18"?

7. How expensice are the services and when are the majors due? Can I do the small services myself? I would do all mainetnance on my 993 myself, but that was 8 years ago and I have two kids now.

8. Would you get a low mileage car (obviously off lease) at Manheim or other auction to save money?

9. What else should I know going in with my eyes open?

Thank you so much guys, I really appreciate any pointers you can provide.

EJ

Shawn Stanford

1. Sure.

2. https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...ng-thread.html

3. Poorly, it seems (my P!g had CDR23 and that makes me smile). No iPOD connection and an adapter will run you into the mid $100s. No aux in.

4. 15-18 around town, low 20s on the highway with luck.

5. Hitches were optional, but can be retrofitted. There are inexpensive aftermarket and expensive OEM kits around.

6. I've motored mine through 6"-8" of snow on multiple occasions on all-season tires with no difficulties. Stock wheels on an 'S' is an 18".

7. It's a Porsche...

8. I might...

9. It's an awesome f*ing truck.

GuyIncognito

links to the aftermarket stuff?

I'm in the market for a Cayenne as a tow vehicle, I see a lot of cars I'm interested in that don't have a tow package. if it's a relatively quick/easy conversion that greatly increases the number of available cars.

seankrider

Conversion is a pretty easy DIY - rear bumper cover off, old aluminum bumper off, new tow bar bumper on, cut small square out of bumper cover with x-acto knife following template, bumper cover back on. Most challenging part was getting carpet off the right rear side of the cargo area near the CD changer to access the harness plug/control unit location.

But getting the OEM tow bar and harness for less than a grand is the key. I scored one so damn cheap that it's almost embarrasing. I bought one from a Craig's List ad some 2,000 miles away.

BTW, the Curt and other non-OEMs I think are rated to maybe 6,000lbs, vs. the OEM that goes up to 7,700lbs.

Shawn Stanford

Here are some. The keywords for searching are 'Curt hitch', 'trailer light controller' and 'trailer brake controller'.

https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...h-install.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...-and-pics.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...w-package.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...w-vehicle.html

I got my Curt for less than $150 and the light controller ran me $50. Works like a champ.

Slow Guy

4. I think Shawn has a V6 and a fairly light foot.... NTTAWWT
I have a '06 V8 and a heavy foot, mid 14 - 15 in town, 17 on highway for me.

If you can do the normal maint. on a 993 the Cayenne is a piece of cake. I do all the std. maint. on both including engine drop/clutch on the 993 and coolant tubes on the Cayenne.

Little Green

Real world mileage from a relatively heavy footed driver is 10.5-12 in city traffic and 19-21 on the highway at 75ish. I was on a trip back from the track this weekend following my buddy's truck hauling the trailer. Went 65 mph the whole way and got 24mpg. If anyone really gets 14-15 mpg in the city its not a real city(I work in Philly) or they drive like your grandma. Thing sucks on gas. If it's a concern it may not be the right vehicle for you

BTW-I LOVE my car. Wish it was a 911 but with 2 kids, wife, 2 dogs and lots of activities there is nothing better if you enjoy DRIVING

seankrider

This might be the quote of the forum... if ever there were a P!gPen tee-shirt, v. 2.0...

CanyonBlaster

IMHO - hold out for a GTS, at this point you can get a GTS for approx half of orig MSRP.

oh, and I recommend get a second set of winter wheels and tires.

E. J. - 993 Alumni

Thanks everyone. Bill, nice to see you again. Little Green, that mileage is about what I expected. We are practically neighbors.

I'm still struggling with the CPO vs. no warranty issue. Any insight there from anyone?

TIA, EJ

Shawn Stanford

My P!g has been nekkid since I bought it with 82k on the clock. I've had it for 18 months and put 20k more on there. The only repairs have been brakes all around and the exhaust y-pipe. IMO, CPO or 3rd party warranty aren't worth the money: the odds of something exceptionally expensive happening are relatively low, so the difference pays for itself in repairs that are entirely reasonable in a vehicle over 100k.

If I had found a CPO or paid for a 3rd party warranty, it would have cost me an additonal $5k. My repair bills to date are less than $3k and a CPO would have expired a couple thousand miles ago.

Go for it, just mentally (or even physically) set aside $5k for repairs and you'll be fine.

YMMV...

Shawn Stanford

Also: I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend that you look for a plain-vanilla CDR23. They can be easily and inexpensively updated to contemporary electronics. If you get anything else, you're going to have headaches.

seankrider

There has been a lot of discussion on whether to CPO on this forum - troll through search results for an hour and you'll get a good taste of the collective wisdom among the PP dwellers. Shawn has a good point - it's only useful if you use it, because it is not cheap.

But in the spirit of a fair and balanced perspective, I will say that I wish I had gotten one. In fact the Pano roof, rear air, and CPO were the only things that would have made this my keep-forever car (that, and a third row). If it's around a $3K price differential, then that's a pretty good deal both in terms of financial break-even, and peace of mind. You may not get every penny back, but you might also be the one in a hundred with a scored cylinder and a $16K engine block replacement. If the CPO is much more than that, he's right that you can self-insure by putting that same $3K in the glovebox and drawing down for each major repair.

But if you want a more interesting exercise to estimate your likelihood of using the warranty, find out how many of the Known Biggies have already reared their heads: Coolant Pipes, Cardan Shafts, coils, coils, coils, valve body, etc. If all of these are done, then a CPO is catastrophic coverage only for you, and a very expensive policy; if none have cycled through yet, then it's a nice pre-paid maintenance plan with a free catastrophic rider included.

Bottom line for me was this vehicle is still a pretty impressive engineering marvel, which stated another way means expensive to repair. I'd rather drive it and have fun, and discover all sorts of rough edges to smooth out under CPO... than delicately putter along hoping I don't expose another expensive fix.

Little Green

EJ,
I picked mine up at Porsche of the Mainline under the CPO program. It expires this October. Going to keep her for a while. My coolant pipes burst. I have had a couple of nagging little issues with the car which they have fixed. With a 7-10 day notice I always get a Pcar loaner(Pepper or Pani). Service guys are great to work with. The Used car sales guys were a bit douchy so they sent the "new" girl to sell me the car. Walked out an hour later with the car. Easiest sale she ever made.

Anyway for an 08 if it's at a dealer it should be CPO, if it's not find out why. To Shawn's point if you set aside a 3K bill you should be fine for almost anything outside of catastrophic engine damage and I don't hear alot of those issues. If something like engine scoring happened I would call PCNA anyway and raise hell over the car blowing up on me.

Slow Guy

Yeah, my "city" driving is more like driving in Kennett Square, PA than driving in Philly. My freeway driving is closer to 80 - 85 with occasional runs over 90. Thank god for the V1!! Mileage drops off fast over 75. The price you (I) pay....

Lived in Landenberg, PA for a few years, don't miss the smell of the mushroom farms.